- Care home
Bramble Cottage Retirement Home
Assessment report published 27 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
The service is a care home providing personal care support for up to 28 people. There were 24 people using the service at the time of the assessment.
Who the service is for
This service supports older people and people with physical disabilities, some of whom are living with dementia.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment on 7 October 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People received safe, effective and person-centred care from staff who treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff supported people in line with their needs and wishes. Risks to people had been assessed and measures put in place to minimise these. Systems were in place to safeguard people. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of this and there was a strong ethos about keeping people safe from harm.
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.
Concerns had been appropriately documented and reported to the relevant agencies. Accident and incidents were monitored for any learning opportunities and to minimise recurrence.
There were enough staff with the correct skill set to provide safe care to people. Staff spoke positively about the training available and how it supported them to complete their role. Staff were encouraged to develop their skills and excel in their work. Staff felt supported in the roles and received regularly supervision. All staff spoke positively about the registered manager and how they wouldn’t hesitate to raise any concerns they had.
The environment was clean and tidy. People had personalised items in their rooms. The housekeeping team followed suitable checklists to ensure tasks were completed consistently. Equipment was safely checked and maintained to a good standard.
Medicines were managed safely. The registered manager regularly undertook medicines rounds themselves to maintain oversight of this. Staff received appropriate training to ensure they remained competent to administer medicines.
People’s needs had been robustly assessed. Staff knew people well and delivered care in line with their needs and wishes. Staff worked alongside external professionals to ensure people achieved good outcomes in relation to their health and wellbeing. One professional told us, “Staff are always fully informed of their resident's needs. There is excellent communication with us, which ensures appropriate and timely care can be provided.”
There was a positive culture within the service, with systems in place to provide effective oversight of the quality and safety of care. Leaders understood their responsibilities and the registered manager monitored the service to identify risks and opportunities for improvement. The registered manager told us, “I’m so proud of the team. They are so hands on and reliable. I trust them to do a good job, and they do.” Learning opportunities were used to support good practice and drive continuous improvement, helping to ensure people continued to receive good-quality care.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives all spoke positively about the care and support received at Bramble Cottage. One person told us, “I am so happy here. [Staff] look after me so well. They always come in and check on me, whether I need anything.”
People were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible and to try new things. One person told us, “The food here is lovely, they are always encouraging me to try new things. They will bring me a little pot of something to taste before a big plate to check I will enjoy it.”
The home created a regular newsletter called the ‘Bramble Ramble’. This highlighted to people what activities were planned for the coming weeks and celebrated events which had already taken place. One person said, “There’s always something going on. Even if I don’t want to join in, [staff] will encourage me to sit in the room so I can still be involved.”
People’s care plans were person-centred and contained detailed information on how they would like their care to be delivered. The registered manager explained how they thrive from the moment a person arrives, to get to know them so their care can be bespoke to them. There was a key working system in place to ensure people’s wishes were regularly reviewed and any changes in preferences were updated in a timely way.
People were supported to have choice and control. We observed warm interactions between people and staff throughout our visit to the home. People were comfortable in the presence of staff, and staff were responsive to their needs. We saw people being asked for consent before support was given and clear explanations of what was going on. People were given choice throughout the day, including at mealtimes. The chef had a detailed knowledge of people’s likes and dislikes and explained how people can change their mind as often as they wish, they will cater for what they would like.
People had opportunities to give feedback, raise concerns and contribute to decisions about their care. Relatives told us they were involved in their loved one’s care and kept up to date with any changes. One relative told us, “They know [person] so well and can spot if anything is wrong immediately. They keep me up to date. The communication is very good.”